Encyclopedia

Scholia

6 books · 116 mentions

Stellar Magnitude

A measure of the brightness of a star as perceived by an observer, traditionally classified into six ranks since antiquity. This concept was central to the observational catalogs of Copernicus, Brahe, and Kepler.

6 books · 115 mentions

Siddhapura

6 books · 113 mentions

Soma

6 books · 110 mentions

Sanchuniathon

A semi-legendary Phoenician author whose purported writings on mythology and cosmogony were cited by early modern scholars to trace the origins of religion.

6 books · 108 mentions

Sun and Moon (Gold and Silver)

The fundamental alchemical duality representing the union of the masculine (Gold/Sol) and feminine (Silver/Luna) principles necessary for the Great Work.

6 books · 106 mentions

Sulphur, Mercury, and Salt

The 'Tria Prima' or three prime principles of Paracelsian alchemy, representing the soul, spirit, and body of all matter.

6 books · 102 mentions

Spleen

An organ traditionally associated in humoral theory with black bile and melancholy, serving as a focus for both anatomical study and symbolic physiological speculation.

6 books · 100 mentions

Sabellius

6 books · 96 mentions

Samvat Era

A historical calendar era widely used in India, traditionally believed to have been established by King Vikramaditya in 57 BCE.

6 books · 96 mentions

Su Song

A Song dynasty polymath who designed an elaborate astronomical clock tower and compiled significant works on pharmacopoeia.

6 books · 94 mentions

Scylla

A legendary sea monster located in the Strait of Messina, often used in philosophical allegory to represent unavoidable dangers or moral hazards.

6 books · 94 mentions

Spinal cord

The long, thin, tubular structure made up of nervous tissue that extends from the brainstem through the vertebral column. In early modern medicine and philosophy, it was studied as the primary conduit for 'animal spirits' and motor function.

6 books · 92 mentions

Saka era

6 books · 91 mentions

Sulfur and Mercury

The two fundamental principles of alchemical theory, representing the active/combustible and passive/metallic qualities of matter, respectively.

6 books · 91 mentions

St. Paul’s Churchyard

The open space surrounding St. Paul's Cathedral in London that served as the primary hub for the English book trade and publishing industry in the 16th and 17th centuries.

6 books · 90 mentions

Salvation

The theological concept of being saved from sin and its consequences, often through divine grace or specific spiritual practices. In esoteric traditions, it is frequently linked to the 'Great Work' or the return of the soul to its divine origin.

6 books · 88 mentions

Southern regions

A geographical designation often referring to the Southern Hemisphere or the 'Antarctic' zones in early modern cosmography and celestial navigation.

6 books · 85 mentions

Saint Matthew

One of the twelve apostles and the traditional author of the first Gospel, central to Christian iconography and theological exegesis.

6 books · 84 mentions

Sindh

A historical region in the northwestern Indian subcontinent, significant in early modern geography and as a cultural crossroads for astronomical and astrological knowledge.

6 books · 81 mentions

Specific Form

In Scholastic and early modern natural philosophy, the essential nature or 'soul' of a species that determines its unique properties and behaviors.

6 books · 79 mentions

Spirit (Spiritus)

In Neoplatonic and alchemical traditions, a subtle, intermediary substance that connects the immaterial soul to the material body and the celestial to the terrestrial.

6 books · 75 mentions

Supreme Good

The ultimate goal of human existence and the highest principle of ethics and metaphysics, often identified with God or the Platonic 'One'.

6 books · 75 mentions

Sophisms

Fallacious arguments used intentionally to deceive or to display rhetorical skill, frequently critiqued by Platonic and Aristotelian philosophers.

6 books · 73 mentions

Stereometry

The branch of geometry dealing with the measurement of three-dimensional figures and volumes, emphasized in the Platonic curriculum of mathematical sciences.

6 books · 72 mentions

St. Paul's

Refers to St. Paul's Cathedral in London, a major religious and cultural landmark that served as a hub for the book trade and intellectual life in the early modern period.

6 books · 72 mentions

Sadducees

A sect or group of Jews that was active in Judea during the Second Temple period, often characterized in early modern theology by their denial of the resurrection of the dead.

6 books · 68 mentions

Sphere of the moon

6 books · 66 mentions

Sensation (Aisthesis)

The philosophical and physiological study of perception through the senses, a core topic in Aristotelian and Neoplatonic theories of the soul's interaction with matter.

6 books · 64 mentions

Sorcery

The practice of magic, particularly that involving the invocation of spirits or the use of occult rituals to influence the natural world. In early modern Europe, it was often legally and theologically distinguished from natural magic and associated with maleficium.

6 books · 63 mentions

Semicircle

A plane figure bounded by a diameter and the arc of a circle, serving as a fundamental geometric component in astronomical models and architectural diagrams.

6 books · 63 mentions

Sphere of activity

A concept in natural philosophy describing the spatial range within which a substance or force can exert its causal influence.

6 books · 58 mentions

Scalene Triangle

A triangle in which all three sides have different lengths. In Platonic geometry, particularly in the Timaeus, specific triangles were theorized to be the geometric foundations of the four elements.

6 books · 55 mentions

Spirit

A multifaceted term in Western esotericism referring to the vital breath, the intermediary between soul and body (spiritus mundi), or an incorporeal being.

6 books · 50 mentions

Shekhinah (Divine Presence)

In Jewish mysticism and Kabbalah, the feminine aspect of the divine that dwells within the world and represents the immanence of God. It is often identified with the tenth Sefirah, Malkhut, and the collective soul of Israel.

5 books · 208 mentions

Self-love

In early modern moral philosophy and theology, the concept of amor sui, often contrasted with the love of God (amor Dei). It was a central theme in the works of Augustine, Swedenborg, and various devotional writers who analyzed its role in human sin and spiritual regeneration.

5 books · 200 mentions

Seminal reasons (rationes seminales)

Formative, seed-like principles latent in matter that guide the development of physical forms, a concept originating in Stoicism and developed by Augustine and Ficino.

5 books · 146 mentions

Sidereal Year

The time taken by the Earth to orbit the Sun once with respect to the fixed stars, approximately 365.256 days. It differs from the tropical year due to the precession of the equinoxes, a distinction vital to Copernican and Newtonian astronomy.

5 books · 145 mentions

Symmachus

A prominent 4th-century Roman statesman and orator who was a leading defender of traditional Roman paganism against Christianization.

5 books · 143 mentions

Samothrace

5 books · 142 mentions

Simmias

A Theban philosopher and disciple of Socrates who appears in Plato's Phaedo, known for his inquiry into the nature of the soul as a harmony.

5 books · 133 mentions

Shekhinah

In Jewish mysticism and Kabbalah, the divine presence or the indwelling of God in the world, often personified as a feminine aspect.

5 books · 126 mentions

Sennacherib

The King of the Neo-Assyrian Empire (r. 705–681 BC) known for his military campaigns against Judah and his extensive building projects in Nineveh. He is frequently cited in biblical commentaries and historical texts regarding the siege of Jerusalem and divine intervention.

5 books · 125 mentions

Saffron of Mars

5 books · 124 mentions

Saurashtra

A peninsular region in western India, historically significant in Vedic literature and frequently mentioned in Indian astrological and geographical texts.

5 books · 114 mentions

Sychaeus

The husband of Dido in Roman mythology, whose death and memory play a significant role in the 'Aeneid' and subsequent literary commentaries.

5 books · 114 mentions

School

5 books · 113 mentions

Shaanxi

5 books · 113 mentions

Septimius Severus

A Roman Emperor whose reign and architectural legacy, such as his triumphal arch, were studied by Renaissance humanists and architects like Palladio. He is often cited in historical and legal treatises of the early modern period.

5 books · 112 mentions

Sagitta

A small northern constellation representing an arrow, or in geometry, the vertical distance from the midpoint of an arc to its chord.

5 books · 110 mentions

Su Gong

5 books · 107 mentions

Sharon

A fertile coastal plain in Israel, often invoked in mystical and biblical literature as a symbol of spiritual beauty and the site of the 'Rose of Sharon'.

5 books · 102 mentions

Stone of the Philosophers

The legendary alchemical substance sought by practitioners to achieve the transmutation of base metals into gold and the creation of the elixir of life.

5 books · 98 mentions

Spiritual Species

In scholastic and Neoplatonic philosophy, the 'intentional' forms or images emitted by objects that allow them to be perceived by the senses and the intellect.

5 books · 98 mentions

Specific gravity

The ratio of the density of a substance to the density of a reference substance, a concept vital to the development of hydrostatics and early modern experimental physics.

5 books · 96 mentions

Saint Michael

5 books · 96 mentions

Self-sufficiency

An ethical and metaphysical ideal in ancient philosophy, denoting a state of independence from external needs and reliance on internal virtue or divine intellect.

5 books · 96 mentions

Suppuration

The physiological process of pus formation, historically interpreted by physicians as a necessary stage in the maturation and expulsion of morbid humors from a wound.

5 books · 95 mentions